5 Electrical Mistakes Homeowners Make (and How to Avoid Them)

1. Daisy-chaining power bars

Plugging one power bar into another seems harmless but creates a genuine fire risk. Each power bar is designed to handle the load of one outlet's capacity. Stack two and you double the potential draw on a single circuit junction. The heat builds up in the connectors, and unlike a circuit breaker, there's no automatic shutoff.

Fix: Use a single quality power bar with a proper surge protector rating. If you need more outlets in a room, have a dedicated circuit added — this costs less than most people expect.

2. Ignoring a tripping breaker and resetting it repeatedly

A breaker trips because there's too much current flowing through it — either because there's a fault or because the circuit is genuinely overloaded. Resetting it without investigating why it tripped is like turning off a fire alarm instead of looking for smoke.

Fix: When a breaker trips once, note what was running on that circuit. If it trips again under the same conditions, call an electrician. Don't use the heavy-duty cord trick, don't move the load to extension cords — find out what's happening.

3. Using the wrong wire gauge for the job

14-gauge wire is rated for 15A circuits. 12-gauge is rated for 20A. Running a 20A circuit on 14-gauge wire — which is thinner and can't handle the heat — is a fire waiting to happen. This is a classic DIY mistake that happens when someone matches the breaker to the load but doesn't match the wire.

Fix: Wire gauge and breaker size must match. If you're unsure what's in your walls, have it inspected before adding load to old circuits.

4. Not using GFCI protection in wet areas

GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlets are the ones with the Test/Reset buttons. They're required by code within 1.5m of water sources: sinks, bathtubs, showers, outdoor outlets, garage outlets. Without them, a fault in the wiring — or a dropped hair dryer — can deliver a lethal shock.

Fix: Every outlet in your kitchen, bathroom, garage, and exterior should be GFCI-protected. This is a cheap retrofit that takes about 20 minutes per outlet.

5. Underestimating the load of "small" heaters

Space heaters are the number one cause of circuit overloads in Quebec homes in winter. A 1,500W space heater draws about 12.5A — that's 83% of a 15A circuit's capacity on its own. Add a lamp, a TV, and a laptop charger and you're over the limit.

Fix: If you use a space heater regularly, it should be on its own dedicated 20A circuit, ideally with nothing else plugged in. If you're relying on space heaters to heat a room, it's worth asking whether a permanent electric baseboard on its own circuit would be safer and more efficient.

Noticed one of these in your home?

Some of these are quick fixes. Others need a professional. Tell us what you're seeing and we'll let you know which is which.